Georgena Terry to Keynote Women Bike Event at the National Bike Summit

Georgena Terry is a pioneer and a visionary.

The founder of the first company to manufacture and market bikes built specifically for women, she challenged the very structure and design of the bicycle. Both an entrepreneur and an advocate, Terry dared to follow her passion and ingenuity and grew a basement operation into an internationally known brand.

And on March 4, she’ll be the opening keynote at the Women Bike event at the start of the 2013 National Bike Summit. Register today!

With a theme of Women Mean Business, this all-day event will continue the momentum of the National Women’s Bicycling Summit in Long Beach this fall and once again bring together women from all aspects of the bicycle movement to learn, network and be inspired. And, when it comes to women bike business leaders, Georgena Terry is quite simply a legend.

As Susi Wunsch, founder of Velojoy and Women Bike advisory board member, sums up:

Georgena Terry began to ponder the subtleties of bicycle fit, notably for smaller women like herself, while working as a young engineer in the 1980s. Her fascination with how women’s physiology relates to frame geometry led her to teach herself how to build bicycles in her spare time. “I never liked working for a big corporation,” she says now. “I think I always knew that I would end up doing something on my own.”

That “something” turned out to be the founding in 1985 of Terry Precision Cycling, the first woman-specific bicycle company. At a time when women’s options were still limited to men’s bikes and apparel, Terry listened. She focused on problem-solving for women who, for example, couldn’t clear the top tube of a men’s frame or who suffered neck and shoulder pain from having to reach too far for handlebars. Early on, a male-dominated industry was less than encouraging. But Terry, who considers being called an “absolute maverick” the highest compliment, and who has since been widely recognized with industry distinctions, achieved success by innovating — creating women’s bicycles, saddles and apparel that enhance comfort and performance.

Terry sold controlling interest in the company to private investor Liz Robert in 2009. Today, from her base outside Rochester, NY, she continues to make bicycles, working directly with customers on measurements and specifications and having the classic steel frames manufactured by Waterford Precision Cycles in Wisconsin. “I’ve got no overhead, no rent, I don’t build a bike until I sell it,” Terry says. Perhaps that’s one reason why this petite legend estimates that she’ll log 6,500 miles on her own bike this year…

And the cycling maverick couldn’t be more excited to join us. “The National Bike Summit has a great reputation,” Terry says. “I’m honored to be speaking at the Women Mean Business event — a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and meet new advocates for cycling.”

This event will sell out — sign up today! And stay tuned for more program details in coming weeks!